I’ve been looking forward to receiving my 2015 cooking magazine subscriptions (I’m changing it up a bit this year).  The first to arrive in the mailbox was BON APPETIT with a big banner across the top that read GET HEALTHY IN 2015.  Right on!!

So I promptly made cookies.  Pistachio Oatmeal Cookies.

It had rained for 3 days straight.  I hadn’t ‘cooked’ anything in forever.

In my defense these Pistachio Oatmeal Sandies fell under their round-up of Sweet-ISH Dessert recipes.  The fact that they aren’t overly sweet is exactly what makes them so delicious in a pecan sandie meets oatmeal cookie kind of way.

The dough begins in the food processor or Vitamix in our case.  The pistachios and oats are pulsed into small pieces with the flour, baking soda and salt.  Don’t worry about uniformly sized pieces.  Seeing pieces of delicious pistachio peeking through adds character.  The nut mixture is then combined with a minimal amount of sugar and a generous amount of butter.

This lover of ‘cookie dough’ was delighted to discover…No Eggs.  I instantly began to fantasize about recipe variations.  Pistachio Oatmeal Cookie Dough Ice Cream.  Or maybe Double Chocolate Brownies with swirls of cookie dough.  I was talking like a mad women who had been cooped up in the house without a sugar splurge for too long.  I quickly rolled the dough in parchment paper logs and stashed them in the back of my fridge.  Get it together woman.

Monday morning I packed up my parchment logs of heavenly dough and off to the office we went.  We have a brand new break room and bigger kitchen that begs to have cookies baking just before 3 o’clock break.  These Pistachio-Oatmeal Sandies, served slightly warm, were a great success.  Thankfully I saved a few to picture the next day and share with you.  They were just as delicious.

If a cookie with two sticks of butter can be light, these are that.  And nutty.  In the very best way.

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Pistachio Oatmeal Sandies

Prep Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes

Servings 36

Author Bon Appetit, January 2015

Ingredients

• 1 cup shelled pistachios
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup 2 sticks butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup confectioners sugar

Instructions

• Place pistachios, oats, flour, salt and soda in your food processor or Vitamix. Pulse several times until pistachios are broken down but still visible.
• In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy; about 5 minutes. Slowly add in nut mixture and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Turn dough out onto parchment paper and finish mixing by hand.
• Divide dough into two equal pieces. Shape into 2 logs about 1 1/2-inches in diameter. Wrap each in parchment paper and chill until firm, at least 1 hour or up to 5 days in advance.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Slice dough logs into 1/4-inch thick slices; spaced about 1/2-inch apart. Bake 9-10 minutes until barely golden. Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving.

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When making Healthy Choices, one of the first things I add to our weekly dinner rotation is Jenny-O All Natural Turkey Tenderloins.  This versatile white meat is actually slightly lower in fat and calories than boneless skinless chicken breasts.  And their mild flavor lends itself to recipe creativity.  Like this flavor packed colorful Moroccan Stuffed Turkey Tenderloin.

While Winter Thyme brings Spice Exploration to the pages of Lemony Thyme, it also brings less than desirable lighting for food photography.  However, because I loved this dish so much I see nothing but beautiful flavor here.  The stuffing began with a base of cinnamon infused couscous.  To that I added sautéed onion and garlic that was seasoned with cumin and coriander.

Next came the aromatics: the nutty sweet flavors of dried pitted dates and shelled pistachios combined with the tart pop from fresh orange pieces and pomegranate seeds.  I also added about a 1/4 cup of fresh chopped cilantro leaves.  Flavor wow!!  I have actually pictured this Moroccan Stuffing to share as a separate recipe.  It’s amazing.

I’m a sucker for stuffing with anything.  It is after all one of my favorite food groups.  So I butterflied the tenderloins, pounded them to an even thickness (about 3/4-inch), then stuffed them with this glorious Moroccan influenced filling.

A little butcher’s twine helps keep everything in place.  I lightly browned the stuffed tenderloins in an oven-proof skillet, then basted them with a wonderful spiced honey glaze before transferring them to the oven to bake.  Pour yourself a glass of wine and set your timer for 30 minutes, give them another basting with the glaze, set your timer for 10 minutes and check for doneness.  Recommended temperature is 165 degrees.  We remove ours just before and let them rest for 10 minutes while coming up to temp.  Slice and serve.

We reheated one of the Moroccan Stuffed Turkey Tenderloins by wrapping it in foil and placing it in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.  It was just as delicious as when we first served this dish.  Enjoy!

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Moroccan Stuffed Turkey Tenderloin

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 24- ounce pkg. Jennie-O All Natural Turkey Tenderloins pounded to 3/4-inch thickness.
• 1/2 cup couscous
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 Tbl. olive oil divided
• 1 onion fine diced
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 tsp. coriander
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 6 dried pitted dates chopped
• 1/2 cup pistachios chopped
• 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
• 1/4 cup orange pieces chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro

For the glaze…

• 1 Tbl. honey
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• salt & pepper

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Butterfly turkey tenderloins and pound to even thickness, about 3/4-inch. Reserve.
• Combine 3/4 cup water with 1 cinnamon stick in a small saucepan. Bring water to boil, stir in couscous and cover. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick, drizzle with 1 Tbl. olive oil and fluff with fork.
• Meanwhile, in an oven-proof skillet sauté onion in a tsp. of olive oil over medium heat until just tender; add in minced garlic, coriander and cumin; cook another minute.
• Add onion mixture along with dates, pistachios, pomegranate, orange pieces, and cilantro to couscous. Allow to cool slightly before stuffing tenderloins.
• Cut 3 pieces of 12-inch butcher’s twine for each tenderloin. Lay butterflied tenderloin on top of strings. Split couscous between each tenderloin. Tie snuggly with twine. Add remainder of olive oil to skillet and brown tenderloins on all sides.
• Combine glaze ingredients and baste browned tenderloins. Transfer tenderloins to oven and bake for 30 minutes. Baste again, then bake an additional 10 minutes or until done. 165 degrees is the recommended temperature. Rest 5 – 10 minutes before slicing.

The post Moroccan Stuffed Turkey Tenderloin appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

I was introduced to energy bites recently and fell in love.  The idea of raw whole ingredients being combined into delicious pop-in-your-mouth treats is well just down right exciting.  There is certainly a growing movement towards stepping away from processed foods and incorporating whole foods into our diets.  Snack foods is a great place to start.

When I stumbled upon this Baklava No-Bake Energy Bites recipe by Rachel Schultz the name alone got me.  Baklava Bites….that are good for you and give you energy.  Yes please and thank you.

Pistachios and Walnuts chopped up with a bit of cinnamon are the base.  A mixture of peanut butter, honey, butter, and vanilla brings it all together.

Roll them into bites of love and refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes or until ready to enjoy.  I shared the love today and delivered No-Bake Baklava Energy Bites to my work family.  Definitely a hit!

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No-Bake Baklava Energy Bites

Servings 20

Calories 173kcal

Author Rachel Schultz

Ingredients

• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 cup pistachios
• 1 Tbl. cinnamon
• 2 Tbl. butter melted
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• dash of salt

Instructions

• Add walnuts, pistachios, and cinnamon to the bowl of your food processor and pulse until chopped into large granules.
• In a medium bowl stir together butter, honey, peanut butter, vanilla, and salt. Add in chopped nuts and stir until well combined.
• Roll into 1-2 inch balls. Chill in fridge for about 30 minutes or until ready to enjoy.

The post No-Bake Baklava Energy Bites appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

I really should make muffins more often.  They are perfect for breakfast, beautiful as an afternoon snack, and happiness just before bed.  Beautiful little bundles of goodness.  When a recipe calls for Chai Tea, Buttermilk, and Pistachios and you happen to have all of them in the house….it’s a sign.  These Pistachio-Chai Muffins have hints of cinnamon, ginger, star anise, clove, cardamom…all the wonderful spices that make Chai Tea so comforting.

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Pistachio-Chai Muffins

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Author Cooking Light May 2011

Ingredients

For the muffins…

• 7.9 oz. all-purpose flour about 1 3/4 cups
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 chai blend tea bags opened
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1/4 cup butter melted
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 large egg lightly beaten
• Cooking spray
• 1/3 cup shelled dry-roasted pistachios chopped

For the glaze…

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 Tbl. water

Instructions

For the muffins…

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut open tea bags and add tea to flour mixture, stirring well with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine buttermilk, melted butter, vanilla, and egg in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.
• Place 12 muffin cup liners in muffin tin, coat liners with cooking spray. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffins cups. Sprinkle chopped nuts evenly over batter. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until tooth pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in pan on a wire rack.

For the glaze…

• Combine 1/2 tsp. vanilla, powdered sugar, and water in a small bowl, stirring until smooth. Drizzle evenly over muffins.

The post Pistachio-Chai Muffins appeared first on Lemony Thyme.